THE WAR GAME / CULLODEN

The Charge

War is hell. Literally.

Opening Statement

A strong case can be made that Peter Watkins deserves the title
"greatest filmmaker you've never heard of." Which is ironic,
considering that the topics and themes Watkins has most consistently explored
throughout his career -- the devastation of war, political dissonance and
individual subjectivity -- are surely ones that would strike a deep chord in
contemporary America and all over the world. This makes the relatively recent
release of several of Watkins's films on DVD, including Punishment Park,
The Gladiators and Edvard Munch all the more timely. And now with
the release of the Oscar-winning The War Game, surely Watkins's most
famous film, and Culledon, a penetrating dissection of war, there is no
excuse for keeping this great cinematic visionary in a peripheral spot on the
cinematic map.

The Evidence

Kenneth Tynan, upon seeing The War Game at a special screening meant
to justify the complete suppression the film, declared that "it may be the
most important film ever made," and while watching it, it's hard to
disagree. A quasi-documentary that utilizes readily available information on
nuclear attacks to create a film depicting the hypothetical -- and quite likely
-- effect nuclear warfare would have had on Great Britain in the mid 1960s, it
simply boggles the mind that this bleak, depressing hour-long film was
originally funded by the BBC with the intention of broadcasting it on national
television (indeed, the heads of the BBC thought they were going to be receiving
something quite different). The resulting film is a depiction of human suffering
presented with an unwavering intensity that makes it nearly unbearable to
experience, and the emotional impact the film makes cannot be stressed enough --
I watched most of the film through tear-blurred eyes. One wishes that with our
delusions of increasing sophistication as a species would render this little
more than an antiquated time capsule of Cold War paranoia, but what makes it all
the more terrifying is the realization that nothing has really changed -- the
likeliness of massive nuclear holocaust is just as much of a reality today as it
was in the mid-1960s. The word "unforgettable" is bandied about often
in film criticism; this is the rare film that truly deserves the
title.

On the other hand, films that deal directly with combat during war almost
always fail to interest me in any way -- the obsession with grand and collective
exploits are usually too impersonal and/or simplistic for my tastes. But I can't
dismiss Culloden in the same offhand manner -- for even if it does focus
on the gritty and bloody reality of hand-to-hand combat, it also goes out of its
way to make sure the viewer is aware of what is at stake on a personal level for
every individual involved. Meticulously recreating the disastrous Battle of
Culloden of 1746 where the English army finished off the Scottish resistance to
its imperial rule, it is also shot a quasi-documentary style, with an off-camera
narrator (played by Peter Watkins himself) asking various participants personal
questions regarding their age, economic background and family situation, all the
while informing the viewer of the factors involved in bringing the individual to
this particular tragic moment in time. This confronts the viewer with the
reality that all grand, overarching narratives -- the kind that we read as
children in history books -- are really the fusion of countless tiny, intimate,
personal narratives, in this case one saturated with injustice, heartbreak, loss
and more often than not, death itself. The film was made with the specific
intentions to make strong parallels with the Vietnam War, but, well, let's just
say that the film feels just as relevant as ever, and leave it at that.

The War Game is a good example of the type of films nearly impossible
to rate on a technical scale, for there are many moment when the damaged image
quality -- with readily apparent scratches, nicks and other blemishes -- though
this is most certainly a very calculated aesthetic decision on Watkins's part.
Still, everything considered, New Yorker's presentation of The War Game
is about as good as it can be. The print for Culloden, on the other hand,
is truly outstanding -- with a rich contrast in the black and white image with
very few defects noticeable in the image. The audio tracks for both films are
also very good, with little distortion.

Two commentary tracks, one for each film, comprise the DVD's main extras.
For The War Game, Patrick Murphy provides a very thoughtful, methodical
analysis of the film as it unfolds, managing to weave seamlessly together
scene-specific interpretations as well as general observations about Watkins's
style and personal history. While it's very dense, it manages never to become
dull or dry. Dr. John Cook takes a much more anecdotal approach to his
commentary for Culloden and while it may lack the specificity of Murphy's
commentary, but it's also thoroughly engaging as well as enlightening. The only
other extra is a 12 page booklet featuring an informative article by Murphy,
which offers an insightful look into the development of Watkins from a BBC
protégé to a revered experimental filmmaker, and how the major impact
both The War Game and Culloden had on the trajectory of his
filmmaking career.

Closing Statement

Roger Ebert has made the comment that "they should string up bed sheets
between trees and show The War Game in every public park." Though he
wrote those words at the close of his 1967 review of Watkins's film, it's just
as valid a statement today as it was the day it was written. And while they're
at it, why not show Culloden as well?